This invention relates to a method for mounting solar cells and especially to a method for the planar mounting of solar cells which provides a large increase in the thermal dissipation capacity of the solar cell assembly or array.
Prior to this invention, the silicon cells in a solar cell assembly for powering an earth-circling satellite were mounted on the aluminum panel according to the following sequence:
1. A five-mil layer of fiberglass was secured to the aluminum-chassis panel by means of epoxy;
2. The cell array was then secured to the fiberglass layer by either a silicone adhesive or an epoxy.
This approach suffered from the poor thermal conductivity of both the fiberglass and the epoxy mounting adhesive. In addition, because of the thermal coefficient of linear expansion between the aluminum, fiberglass, epoxy and silicon, high mechanical stresses occurred and potential failure modes existed.
The present invention provides an excellent thermal path between the panel and the cells, a low absorptivity-to-emissivity-ratio coating on the exposed non-electrical parts of the cells and panel, and eliminates the potential failure mode caused by the linear thermal expansion mismatch.